Watch: Build a DIY Small Alcohol Burner

This is a cool way to get a little heat and looks to be a lot better than a Sterno can. Heck, it can even be used for cooking or boiling water in the field.

There are plenty of alcohol burner videos out there, but this one looks like pretty simple and easy to make, as well as effective. And with some modification suggested by his commenters, it might be perfect to pack in an emergency kit or bugout bag to keep in your vehicle.

You start with a small mason jar and end up with a handy-dandy little burner. The video walks you through the steps.

Some folks suggest filling the copper tubing with water and freezing it before bending it, rather than filling it with sand. The advantage there would be no chance of any sand or grit remaining in the tubing.

Perhaps the best suggestion is to glue a separate metal threaded lid ring to this one, with the opening facing upward. Then when the burner is not in use, you can screw another jar into it. This jar will serve as a cover to prevent the alcohol from evaporating, and to help protect the copper tubing from getting bent or otherwise mangled.

All in all, I think it’s good info that any DIYer can adapt to his or her own purposes. Check it out and see what you think.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.